Mike Miller's Lifetime Maintenance schedule?

Dave Roberts here;Happy owner of a 2012 E82/135i, DCT equiped, with 8000 miles, residing and driving in Houston, TX. All attempts to contact Mike Miller at techtalk@roundel.org for his lifetime maintenance schedule for BMW's have drawn a blank. All searches even on the bmwcca website turn up with no matches found. What am I doing wrong and or what is the secret key. All of this talk in Bimmer and Roundel magazinesof BMW's becoming a costly headache by the time they reach middle age (for cars) is or has become a concern. Having been a Nissan man in the past and present, I am used to cars that can be driven aggressively for up to 125000 miles with little more than the most routine care, and rewarded with the utmost reliability. I can now attest that nothing I have driven previously, matches the BMW for driving refinement (balance) and feel and responsivenss. The refinement for this model is surprising as well.I have been won over. However,my admiration for the marque has been tainted by all of the talk of highly probable and expensive trouble in the future. Hence my desire to obtain the maintenance schedule I've seen mentioned in the publications above.

Sorry that you're having problems contacting Mike Miller. I've contacted him twice in the last two years at that e-mail address and he's responded promptly, although the last time was in May last year.

I'm sending you a PM which should hold you over until you hear directly from Mike.

I just have to add. Everyone seems to be on the theory you need to change oil every 3K miles.
Tell that to my motor that has +250,000 miles and gets an oil change every 7500 if it's lucky.
I try to replace filters at 1/2 intervals.

Diff and tranny gets changed every year or so.
Brake fluid gets changed often due to track use.

@dav3rob - as you suggest, the refinement of the BMW line is unmatched, but because of this we, as owners, are required to be meticulous about maintenance. BMW's are precision engineered and as with anything of high quality, an extra level of care is necessary. Hardwood floors vs laminate, Sterling silver vs stainless, BMW vs Nissan - all are good, just different with different types of care required. In my opinion, my car's reliability is my responsibility and I intend to do my darnedest to fulfill it...at 7500 mile intervals...

I spoke to an engineer at Red Line Oil some time ago about intervals. He said that with today's synthetics, a 7,500-mile interval was quite reasonable, and that at 5,000 miles, I was probably wasting money. Remember, the oil doesn't "wear out," but the additives are used up or lose their effectiveness after time.

The other reason to change the oil is to get rid of contaminants. Some people just chamge the filter every X-thousand miles, topping up the oil level, and then change oil and filter every other time.

Satch Carlson

"The first failure of communication is the belief that any is taking place."

I spoke to an engineer at Red Line Oil some time ago about intervals. He said that with today's synthetics, a 7,500-mile interval was quite reasonable, and that at 5,000 miles, I was probably wasting money. Remember, the oil doesn't "wear out," but the additives are used up or lose their effectiveness after time.

The other reason to change the oil is to get rid of contaminants. Some people just chamge the filter every X-thousand miles, topping up the oil level, and then change oil and filter every other time.

Absolutely correct! It's a waste of money to be changing oil that often. Most synthetics are actually good to 15K, but I know most people don't go that long.

Absolutely correct! It's a waste of money to be changing oil that often. Most synthetics are actually good to 15K, but I know most people don't go that long.

I have a question regarding the oil changes, but based on time not mileage. My E46 M3 doesn't see too many miles (maybe about 3-4k per year) and I always wonder how many months should I be performing an oil change. Any comments?

Oh, and about emailing Mike Miller at techtalk@roundel.org, I am in the same boat as the OP as I have not received any replies to my email requests for his schedule since early January

BMW recommends a "low mileage" oil change each year if you have not reached your CBS-recommended oil change mileage. In your case, you should be changing the oil every year since you don't reach the mileage indicated until your next oil change. Some people with low mileage cars change the oil every six months.

My 2006 Z4 M, which had 31,800 miles when I bought it in July last year and now has a little over 35,000 miles 7 months later, averaged a little over 5,000 mile/year with the original owner. The service records show low-mileage oil changes, although he wasn't as current on those as he should have been, going 14-18 months between oil changes, but he did have the M 1200 mile break-in service done on time. After driving it almost 600 miles home, I did my own oil change at 33,800 miles shortly after purchase, recording both the date and mileage. The next oil change will be at 40,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.

Low mileage on a car contributes a lot more to sludge build-up than one driven 12,000-15,000 miles/year because it's usually only driven for short trips and the engine doesn't get up to temperature enough to burn off the condensation and other elements which can lead to sludge. Unless of course you only do 50-75 mile canyon carving trips on the weekend!

I e-mailed Mike the other day using the e-mail address that he replied to me with on a previous request (not the roundel.org address) and I haven't heard back from him yet, although it's only been a couple of days. I did mention this thread and that people had been reporting not hearing back from him.

I have a question regarding the oil changes, but based on time not mileage. My E46 M3 doesn't see too many miles (maybe about 3-4k per year) and I always wonder how many months should I be performing an oil change. Any comments?

Oh, and about emailing Mike Miller at techtalk@roundel.org, I am in the same boat as the OP as I have not received any replies to my email requests for his schedule since early January

I think it depends on how and where you're using your car. If you're using your car as a daily driver and doing 12K miles a year, then you let the oil go to that duration.

If the miles you're putting on the car are lots of stop and go in all weather that tax the engine, then you might want to defer to an annual oil change, regardless of miles. If the miles are low intensity highway miles in mild dry weather, then you can go longer.

It's a judgement call, but even with low miles I tend to change at least every 12-15 months so that the car is being checked over periodically and that any moisture/contamination is purged from the system. For me the duration still works out to around 7K miles, regardless of the timing.

Oh, and about emailing Mike Miller at techtalk@roundel.org, I am in the same boat as the OP as I have not received any replies to my email requests for his schedule since early January

Well, I can tell you that the CCA server had some glitches in January. . . now I see that I am not the only one whose mail was not properly forwarded! I will toss this to the IT department, and they will fix it, I promise.

Meanwhile, send me yer e-mail address to satch[at]satch[dot]us and I will send you the Lifetime Keep-It-Together Bible myself.

Satch Carlson

"The first failure of communication is the belief that any is taking place."

Well, I can tell you that the CCA server had some glitches in January. . . now I see that I am not the only one whose mail was not properly forwarded! I will toss this to the IT department, and they will fix it, I promise.

Meanwhile, send me yer e-mail address to satch[at]satch[dot]us and I will send you the Lifetime Keep-It-Together Bible myself.

Dave, don't fret over the comments that make you worry on bmw reliability. Yes, as all cars go, things do need repair at times. But with routine maintenance they don't have more problems than other brands. I've hit over 125k on several with no more troubles than my Toyota, Nissan, or mercedes. Will say though bmw and mercedes parts more expensive! I've had friends who ran bmw's over 200k with what I would call no more problems than the Toyota we ran to 288k. And those were minimal, as in only couple things broke, and never stranded. So they can run long with good return, just change fluids, belts, and hoses regularly. Just as you would on Toyota you want to run long time with minimal issues.
Where you spend bucks is knowing replacing suspension for 2k at 80-100k miles is worth getting back that perfect feel. I ran the mercedes to 158k with original. Still damn good but not perfect. But different car feeling and didn't feel critical. On all bimmers I've gotten to about 70 and wanted that feeling back and spent the money.
And with current roads, you spend money on rims. Didn't care the Toyota steering wheel vibrated at certain speeds due to slightly bent rims. On the Z I care, so periodically have to spend 125 at discount tire to get one straightened.
And good to hear Satch say server issues, I've contacted Mike couple times and received response literally within hrs. No response would concern me he's had heart attack, not he's gotten lazy or unresponsive!

Well, I can tell you that the CCA server had some glitches in January. . . now I see that I am not the only one whose mail was not properly forwarded! I will toss this to the IT department, and they will fix it, I promise.

Meanwhile, send me yer e-mail address to satch[at]satch[dot]us and I will send you the Lifetime Keep-It-Together Bible myself.

Dave, don't fret over the comments that make you worry on bmw reliability. Yes, as all cars go, things do need repair at times. But with routine maintenance they don't have more problems than other brands. I've hit over 125k on several with no more troubles than my Toyota, Nissan, or mercedes. Will say though bmw and mercedes parts more expensive! I've had friends who ran bmw's over 200k with what I would call no more problems than the Toyota we ran to 288k. And those were minimal, as in only couple things broke, and never stranded. So they can run long with good return, just change fluids, belts, and hoses regularly. Just as you would on Toyota you want to run long time with minimal issues.

We just rolled 106,000 miles on our 2009 X3. It's been the most trouble free vehicle we've owned in 25 years.

I don't wish to argue the point.
If it makes you feel good, fine.
If you want real data, send you oil in for analysis.

I have +260,000 miles on my 1996 M52 with oil changes every 15K or maybe a little longer.
I try to replace my oil filter at 1/2 intervals.
Synthetic all it's life.
Maybe they don't make them like they used to anymore?

I don't wish to argue the point.
If it makes you feel good, fine.
If you want real data, send you oil in for analysis.

I have +260,000 miles on my 1996 M52 with oil changes every 15K or maybe a little longer.
I try to replace my oil filter at 1/2 intervals.
Synthetic all it's life.
Maybe they don't make them like they used to anymore?

Oh I couldn't agree more! I will not argue with anybody on the internet as it never comes to any logical end.

I was just having what I thought was a civil discussion with some insight as to why I don't feel comfortable going 15K on an oil change. In the end we are all responsible for our own cars and each is free to do whatever they like.